Her coach reckons she is one of Australia’s greatest ever rugby players and would be the “No.1” target for NRLW clubs, but Australian sevens star Charlotte Caslick has all but shut the door on playing rugby league again after re-signing for another four years.
Caslick, who has won gold medals at the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and the Sevens World Cup, ignored the interest of NRLW clubs to extend with Rugby Australia through to 2027. Barring injury, the deal will see her become a three-time Olympian in Paris in 2024 and compete at another Commonwealth Games in 2026, in Victoria.
Caslick kept open the option of a transfer to 15s and a Rugby World Cup campaign with the Wallaroos in 2025, but the 27-year-old indicated her chances of crossing to NRLW again are slim.
“I guess I will probably finish my career playing rugby, and that’s an exciting thing,” Caslick said. “Unless I play when I am really old, but at the moment once I get to 31 or 32 or something, I will probably [be finished]. Unless I am Sharni [Williams], but at this stage I don’t know if I will be Sharni.”
Williams, a 2016 Olympic gold medal-winning teammate of Caslick, said recently she is aiming towards another Games, despite turning 36 in 2024.
Caslick played for the Roosters in the 2020 NRLW season when the World Sevens Series shut down due to COVID, but broke her hand and only lasted two games.
Charlotte Caslick watches her rival Shiray Kaka on the screen as she surges upfield in the final.Credit:Getty
“Obviously rugby league is still trying to recruit a lot of girls from rugby sevens,” she said.
“You have seen how successful everyone who has come from our program is in the NRLW, so that was definitely an option.
“But for me, rugby sevens is just so far ahead in terms of athletic performance, and the quality of our program that we have here at Rugby Australia is just so far ahead and leading the way in women’s sport.”
In a release, Caslick said there were “easier options” for her to pursue, but that she was motivated to stay in sevens and win a second Olympic gold.
“If you are prepared to embrace the hard work that comes with being part of the world’s best and most challenging high-performance program, then this is the sport to be involved in,” she said.
Roosters cross-code star Charlotte Caslick leaves Kezie Apps clutching at air.Credit:Getty
Caslick, who is the reigning MVP in world’s women’s sevens, would have been a prized recruit for the NRLW and other women’s contact codes, believes Australian coach Tim Walsh.
“She would be the No.1 recruit, I would think. She is an international star. She is articulate, she is ruthless in the way she plays and she has experience,” Walsh said.
“[It’s a coup for] more than just the women’s sevens program, I think for Rugby Australia. She is one of the greatest rugby players that Australia has ever produced and we are privileged to have her commit to another four years. It’s great for the game.”
Walsh was part of the coaching group that recruited a teenage Caslick to sevens from touch footy in 2012.
“I didn’t see [her having] the impact she had had. She has shaped women’s contact sport, I believe, and has been a huge catalyst in changing perceptions and also the growth of all the other codes. Among other girls, but Charlotte was certainly a key figure,” Walsh said.
The news of Caslick’s re-signing comes as a massive boost ahead of the Sydney Sevens this weekend at Allianz Stadium, with the Australian women’s team looking to bounce back after a rare semi-final exit in New Zealand at the weekend.
Due to the pandemic, the last Sydney Sevens was staged at Bankwest Stadium in 2020. The event was last held at Allianz Stadium in 2018, when the Australian men’s and women’s team both won their respective tournaments.
“Outside winning a gold medal, that’s probably my favourite tournament ever. Not conceding a point and the boys winning and being at home. Everything was just so much fun. Hopefully, we can do the same thing this weekend,” Caslick said.
